E-dividend registration will boost liquidity - SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on more Nigerians to take advantage of the ongoing e-dividend registration in a bid to reduce the unclaimed dividends profile, as well as increase liquidity in the capital market and the economy.

Acting Director General of SEC, Mary Uduk, said this at an enlightenment programme on e-dividend and contemporary issues in the Nigerian Capital Market held in Enugu, a statement from SEC confirmed.

The event, which had the theme: “Current Initiatives by the Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria to Enhance Investor Value”, drew participants from various segments of the society.

Represented by the Head, Port Harcourt Zonal Office of SEC, Mr. Obi Adindu, Uduk disclosed that the commission was currently leading the entire capital market industry in an effort to migrate all shareholders to an e-dividend regime.

She said, “The essence of the e-dividend Mandate Management System is to eradicate or reduce to the barest minimum the incidences of unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividend is an undesirable feature of the Nigerian capital market which denies investors/ shareholders the gains of participating in the capital market. It denies the economy access to the huge amount of money which should have accrued to shareholders and would have gone into circulation to oil the wheel of the economy.”